Warriors compete at home tourney

Senior Kai Lemrise of the Del Norte High wrestling team, below, takes down an opponent at the Battle of the Border tournament on Saturday at Del Norte High School. Lemrise placed 3rd overall in the 189 pound weight class. The Daily Triplicate/ Bryant Anderson

While things are still a work in progress, Warrior coaches Aaron and Clinton Schaad said the event was a great chance for the veterans to finally face live competition and for the newcomers to get a taste of high school wrestling.

A great advantage was the crowd, which became much louder when a Warrior grappler got to the mat, with many in the audience wearing Del Norte T-shirts.

“It feels pretty good when you have the home crowd cheering for you,” Warrior sophomore grappler Barrick Sala said. “When you’re away it’s usually just your teammates cheering for you.”

Del Norte had three wrestlers earn third place finishes. The Warriors tied for 6th overall with 98 points.

Aaron Schaad said that while they would have liked to see more kids place higher, overall “it was a good start.”

 “It’s a benchmark,” he said, adding that each wrestler got to see what they have to work on and improve at before their next tournament, which takes place on Saturday at McKinleyville.

Senior Kai Lemrise took third place at 189. Before his third place match began Lemrise and a few of his teammates excitedly gathered outside the hallways  where sheets of paper with the seedings hung.

Lemrise wore a t-shirt with ‘one down, who’s next,’ etched on the back.

In his third place match Lemrise leapt out to a 7-3 advantage. In the third period the other grappler mounted a comeback, but in the end Lemrise hung on for a hard fought 8-7 victory.

Senior Greg Kirby tied for third at 135. Junior Jordan Lacy placed fourth at 125 pounds.

Sala took third at 215. He  lost by pin in his second match but went on to win five matches in the challenging event, which featured more than 150 wrestlers from 16 teams. In that second match Sala said he heard a whistle blown from the mat next to him and thought it was coming from his match and stopped for a second. This played to his opponent’s advantage, and Sala was pinned a short time later.

Sala said that he learned from this experience and from now on he will make sure when he hears a whistle that it is from the referee for his match.

Clinton Schaad said attendance was quite good this year, with the local fans really coming out to show support for Del Norte High.

“It was a good tournament for us,” he said. “It was great having so many people show up. It’s always good to wrestle in front of your home crowd.”

This year, the Warriors will be seeking their third straight Humboldt-Del Norte Conference title.

The last time the Warriors earned three straight HDNC crowns was from 1996 through 1998.